1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a residential subdivision configuration. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved high density residential lot configuration and method of providing high density residential subdivisions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ever increasing costs and demand for urban residential housing led to an ever growing development of high density residential subdivisions. As with many other subdivisions, the land was divided into lots for housing and common areas. Common areas would typically be owned and/or managed by an entity such as a homeowners association. The major difference between a high density residential subdivision and other residential subdivisions was that the residential buildings were closer together, the number of residential buildings per acre was much higher than the average, and there was much less private outside areas. Historically, high density residential subdivisions were originally primarily found in urban areas but the concept spread beyond urban settings into many suburban areas.
Early high density residential subdivisions were laid out by simply making the lots no larger than necessary to include the residential building plus a minimum amount of area surrounding the building to satisfy various housing codes. For example, FIG. 1 shows an example of a prior art high density layout in which generally rectangular residential buildings 10 occupied the majority of the lots 20. A small narrow strip 26 of the lot extended along the building 10 between two adjacent buildings 10. The residential buildings 10 generally had an entrance 16 that faced a common area 24 and a vehicle garage 14 that faced a rear alley 22. While this layout provided high density housing, it also had several significant drawbacks. First, the occupants had essentially no usable, private outdoor area to enjoy. Second, the layout and the close proximity of buildings on the side and the positioning of the garage effectively blocked out most of the natural light from the inside of the building.
Several attempts were made to design high density residential subdivisions that overcame these fundamental problems, but each attempt had significant issues of its own. An example of one prior art attempt to overcome the deficiencies of high density residential housing layouts is shown in FIG. 2. In the layout of FIG. 2, the buildings 30 are placed on the lots 40 in a similar manner as in FIG. 1 with an entrance 36 facing a common area and a vehicle garage 34 facing an ally 42 in the rear. A narrow strip 37 extends between the buildings 30. The modification was to remove a notch from the rear portion of the building 30 and create a small, back-side yard 38 at the rear corner of the lot 40. While this provided an outdoor space, there were several problems with this design. Initially, because the yard 38 was at the rear, it was surrounded by garages and concrete alley making it a particularly hot area during the summers with no particularly aesthetic view. Additionally, this layout did little or nothing to address the issue of a lack of natural light available to the buildings 30, because the garage 34 bordered the yard 38.
FIG. 3 demonstrates another example of an attempt solve the problems associated with high density housing. In the layout of FIG. 3, the buildings 50 are placed on the lots 60 in a similar manner as in FIG. 1 with an entrance 56 facing a common area 64 and a vehicle garage 54 facing an ally 62 in the rear. A narrow strip 56 extends between the buildings 50; however, in this prior art layout a notch is removed from a central portion of the building's side thereby forming a small courtyard 58. While this layout provided a private outdoor space, and removed that space from the concrete alley (such as in FIG. 2), such courtyards 58 were much like a cave, surrounded by high wall which blocked light not only from the house, but also from the courtyard 58.
Another attempt to address the issues created by high density residential housing developments was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,570 to Kaufman. In Kaufman, the inventors detached the vehicle garage from the house and shifted the garage and the rear portion of the lot to the one side to create a larger usable back yard. While Kaufman's layout addressed the issues of a private outdoor space and some of the natural light issues, the design came with several major disadvantages. Initially, detaching the garage places significant limitations on the size of the home, particularly for buildings having two or more floors. Further, the back yard space remains surrounded by concrete and walls which reduce its aesthetic appeal.
As can be seen, the demand for high density residential housing subdivisions has grown, but such high density housing comes with several particular problems including the lack of a usable, enjoyable outdoor space and significant restrictions on the amount of natural light available to the interior of the residences. Attempts have been made to overcome these deficiencies, but each attempt has resulted in significant detrimental attributes and has failed to solve these major problems.